MARKET PULP ASSOCIATION
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Who are we? 
Overview of the Wood Pulp Industry Pulp is a generic term for a wide range of technically distinct products resulting from complex manufacturing processes that involve the chemical and/or mechanical treatment of various types of plant material. Wood currently provides the basis for approximately 90% of global pulp production; the remaining 10% begins as straw bamboo, bagasse, kenaf, flax, hemp, cotton, etc. Pulp is used predominantly as a major component in the manufacture of paper and paperboard (smaller quantities of pulp find their way into a diversity of products - rayon, photographic films, cellophane and explosives, to name a few). Wood pulp is a globally traded commodity, with tonnes sold on the open market referred to as market pulp. In 2005, 93% of the world's market pulp deliveries consisted of chemical pulp, and the remaining 7% was high yield pulp. In 2005, world chemical market pulp capacity grew by over 1.8 million tonnes, or 3.7%. Surprisingly, most of the growth was in bleached softwood due to definitional changes in North America, capacity ramping up in Germany, and grade switching at some U.S. mills. Overall, bleached softwood capacity increased by close to 1.1 million tonne or 5.0%. Bleached hardwood capacity expanded by more than 650 000 tonnes or 3.0% in 2005, as the shift out of hardwood in the U.S. and the shutdown of some Canadian capacity offset the increases in hardwood capacity mainly in Brazil and China. On the demand side, after three consecutive years of growth above trend, 2005 world demand grew below the long-term trend, up by only 2.5%. Additionally, the 2.5% growth was largely due to the definitional changes that took place in North America. If we were to ignore these changes, which boosted demand by at least 600 000 tonnes, real growth would have been approximately 1.2%. By grade, demand for bleached softwood increased by 3.7%, while demand for hardwood increased by 1.4%. Demand for unbleached kraft expanded by 4.3% while demand for sulphite declined by 2.4%. Canada was the world's largest market pulp supplier in 2005, with 11.4 million tonnes of capacity (9.3 million tonnes of chemical market pulp and 2 million tomes of high yield market pulp) accounting for 21% of global capacity. Canadian market pulp deliveries reached 10.8 million tonnes in the year, 2.6% more than in 2004. Shipments to Asia/Africa and North America contributed most to this gain and more than counter balanced the decline in shipments to Western Europe and Japan. The U.S. was the second largest market pulp supplier in 2005, with 16.4% of global market pulp capacity (8.8 million tonnes of chemical market pulp). U.S. market pulp deliveries amounted to 8 million tonnes in 2005, down by 0.6% compared to the previous year. A slight decline in shipments to Japan was more than offset by gains to all of the other major markets. Nearly all of the gain was in bleached softwood shipments. More information on the wood pulp industry can be found in Wood Pulp Data, published annually by the Pulp and Paper Products Council on behalf of the Market Pulp Association (click on PUBLICATIONS on Homepage).
Grade Structure and Definitions WOOD PULP For statistical purposes, the MPA uses the following grade structure: Chemical Paper Grade Pulp Sulphite Pulp Unbleached Bleached Sulphate Pulp Unbleached Bleached & Semi Bleached Softwood Northern Softwood Southern Softwood Other Softwood Hardwood Northern Hardwood Southern Hardwood Eucalyptus Hardwood Tropical Hardwood Semi-chemical Pulp High Yield & Mechanical Paper Grade Pulp Stone Groundwood Pulp Refiner Pulp Thermomechanical Pulp Chemithermomechanical Pulp Sulphite Pulp Paper grade pulp produced by the sulphite process. Bleached pulp must achieve a G.E. brightness of more than 75. Sulphate Pulp Paper grade pulp produced by the sulphate process. Bleached pulp must achieve a G.E. brightness of more than 75 and semi-bleached pulp a brightness of not less than 45 or more than 75. The softwood variety is generally referred to as NBKP, and the hardwood as LBKP. Sulphate Pulp is sometimes referred to as kraft pulp. Semi-chemical High-yield pulp produced by a mild chemical treatment of the raw material followed by a mechanical defibrating operation. This type of pulp is generally used to produce corrugating medium. Stone Groundwood Pulp (SGW) Pulp produced by grinding wood logs or bolts (usually 4 feet in length) into relatively short fibres. Refiner Pulp (RMP) Pulp produced by subjecting wood chips and/or residues to atmospheric or open-discharge refining. Thermomechanical Pulp (TMP) A high-yield pulp produced by a process in which wood particles are softened by pre-heating under pressure prior to a pressurized refining stage. TMP is generally used at mills producing newsprint and mechanical printing papers. Many older mills have replaced their groundwood and sulphite pulping operations with TMP. Chemithermomechanical Pulp (CTMP) A category of pulp which is produced by a process where wood chips are treated with chemicals prior to heating and refining. Unbleached CTMP is mainly used in integrated paper mills. Bleached CTMP, dried and sold as market pulp, has grown significantly in importance and is now widely used in the production of many grades of paper, including woodfree papers. Pulp Tech Co-organised by FPInnovations Paprican (Pulp and Paper Research Institute of Canada) and the Market Pulp Association (MPA), PulpTech is an annual pulp and paper technology course designed for all industry professionals who wish to broaden their knowledge of the technical aspects of pulping, papermaking, printing and pulp marketing. This year, FPInnovations Paprican has added three new lectures to its program; there will be two lectures on the production and application of high-yield pulps and a lecture on the evolution of green procurement policies for forest products. PulpTech 2008 will be held 12-16 May 2008 at the Vancouver laboratory of FPInnovations Paprican. It is open to all personnel of MPA and FPInnovations Paprican member companies and their customers. Last year's course was a great success, with strong attendance and positive feedback from participants. For information on Pulp Tech, you can contact Nikki Roussanidis (E: nroussanidis@paprican.ca/ T: 604-222.3205) or visit FPInnovations Paprican's website at www.paprican.ca. We look forward to your support!
How to become a member Membership in the MPA is open to any company with market pulp operations in North America. To learn more about the services offered and how your company can join the Market Pulp Association, please contact us (see coordinates below). Contact at the Market Pulp Association: Timothy Brown Director, Product Groups E: tbrown@pppc.org T: 514.861.8849 F: 514.866.4863 |